Mary the Theotokos Dec 20 09 by Rev. Rudnick
Much is made about Jesus’ birth in the Christmas story, but often preachers do not comment on Mary’s “situation”: an unwed mother who is pregnant. Culturally, this would have been disastrous. Mary, most likely just a teenager, is visited by the angel Gabriel to bring Good News: she is to give birth to the Anointed One of Israel. Luke chapter 1 reads:
“Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
It has been well documented that Mary’s pregnancy would be cause to shun Mary out of her community. A scandal! To be pregnant before marriage was grounds for divorce in the Old Testament. Even Joseph thought about leaving Mary, but a divine message changed that. However, apparently there has been some scholarship to suggest that Mary’s pregnancy may have not been that scandalous. Christianity Today‘s blog for women features a new perspective from Lynn Cohick, associate professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. Cohick’s take on Mary’s situation:
Mary was betrothed to Joseph, which was a legally binding arrangement in the Jewish culture. All that awaited the couple was the wedding. If they engaged in sexual intercourse with each other, that was not seen as a violation of any cultural norm. Later rabbinic writings allowed that a future groom who had sexual relations with his bride-to-be at her father’s house was not guilty of immoral behavior.
If pregnancy occurred before the wedding, this was not a problem because the parentage of the child was secured. What is shocking is that Mary is pregnant and Joseph knows he is not the father. The problem is not that a betrothed couple had sex, but that presumably Mary had sex with another man — she committed adultery.
This insight, the author contends, in no way diminishes Mary’s faithfulness and strength. For decades, scholars and seminaries have taught students about the negative moral implications of Mary’s situation.
I’m not sure what to think about this new perspective. Much of the argument of the author hinges on “later rabbinic writings”, which were after the time of Jesus. Mary must have experienced some sort of tension with her family and Joseph’s. Even though the marriage was a legal contract, sex and pregnancy before marriage was still a serious issue. Besides, the contract did not start until the marriage ceremony. I agree with one blogger’s take on it:
So, at this point I’m straddling a fence. I don’t think Mary’s family, however many knew, were jumping for joy at the news of her pregnancy but I think Cohick’s point is that the shame motif has been perhaps pressed too far. I have no idea what kind of relationship Mary had with her family to surmise what kind of reaction she would have received. I imagine the story of a virgin birth would not have been received well (no matter how close they were).
Some background on divorce and marriage may be helpful from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:
The advantage was always with the husband, and yet a wife was not utterly helpless, for she, too, though practically without legal rights, could make herself so intolerably burdensome and hateful in the home that almost any husband would gladly avail himself of his prerogatives and write her a bill of divorcement. Thus, though a wife could not divorce her husband, she could force him to divorce her.
Joseph had two options:
- Joseph could continue the engagement and join Mary in her shame and marry her.
- Following the law, Joseph could accuse Mary of sexual immorality and releasing her from their betrothal contract. The penalty for adultery was stoning a woman.
Despite all the social and cultural implications, Mary literally becomes the bearer of good news. Mary’s faithfulness and strength are to be admired. Her story is a story of how God uses very unlikely people to accomplish his wonderful plan for salvation. No matter what shame she did or did not feel, Mary still proclaimed of God’s goodness in Luke 1:
My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
May you, in this last week of Advent be a “bearer” of God to others.
Advent 4C
The ABC headquarters in Valley Forge, PA (The Holy Doughnut).
This past Sunday it was announced in church that I accepted an invitation to serve on the General Board of the American Baptist Churches U.S.A. I will be one of three New York State American Baptist representatives that will represent our region on the denomination’s leadership board. No, I’m going anywhere. I’m still serving as the pastor of The First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa and my ministry here will not be interrupted.
This presents a wonderful personal opportunity and a tremendous opportunity for the church. The church benefits from having a pastor serving as a voice on our denomination’s leadership board by representing the interests of New York State American Baptists. In addition, being able to bring a young perspective in a mainline denomination is an exciting prospect.
Many of you maybe wondering, “What is the General Board and what do they do?” That is a great question. In order answer some questions for my church and other interested parties, I have pulled together a quick FAQ on the General Board:
What is the General Board and what do they do?
A fresh report from the Barna Group has yielded some surprising results: Mainline churches are not dying! I should be honest with you, nation wide, mainline churches are not growing either. In the past decade, the six mainline church denominations (American Baptist Churches in the USA, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Presbyterian Church (USA); United Church of Christ; and United Methodist Church) have experienced some stability. The Barna Group concluded:
Over the course of the past decade, the number of adults who attend a mainline church on any given weekend has remained relatively stable, ranging from 89 to 100.
In addition, some other encouraging news was reported:
One reason why that average has remained steady has been the population growth of the United States, with the mainline churches attracting just enough newcomers to maintain attendance levels that are similar to the years when the nation’s population was considerably smaller.
Even though these have been tough economical times, signs of finical growth occurred:
… during the past decade the median church budget of mainline congregations has risen substantially – up 51%, to about $165,000 annually.
This is fantastic! Although I am an American Baptist clergyman, I whole-heartily support and have great affection for “mainline churches” (I served in 3 different mainline denominations: ABC, UMC, & PC USA). For years, the mega-church moment has told Christians, “Come here! We are young, happening, and different. Your old corner church is weak and feeble.” Not really. I’m joking, but you get the picture. I have been very clear in past posts that I believe megachurches are not evil and are worshiping, faithful, and Godly communities – but they are not the end-all-be-all of “church.”
What does this Barna report mean for the mainline church? (There is also some bad news)
Academy Award-winning American actor, writer and folk music singer Burl Ives was made famous by playing the role of “Big Daddy” in the play turned movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Big Daddy is portrayed as an impatient, selfish, and harsh father to his son Brick, played by Paul Newman. Big Daddy epitomizes impatience: agitated, red, sweaty, shaky, and hot. All signs of high level stress.
In a comedic exchange in the play/movie, Big Daddy and his wife have a conversation:
Harvey ‘Big Daddy’ Pollitt: Let’s go home.
Ida ‘Big Momma’ Pollitt: Don’t you want to ride with the children, honey?
Harvey ‘Big Daddy’ Pollitt: No!
Ida ‘Big Momma’ Pollitt: [laughing] He’s his sassy old self again, all right!
Harvey ‘Big Daddy’ Pollitt: Be quiet, woman!
Throughout the play/movie, Big Daddy does not have much patience for Big Momma or for that matter his entire family in general.
Well, today is Black Friday! The craziest shopping day of the year! Did you go and brave the crowds for all those insane deals? I could never get up at 4 a.m. and wait in line just to get a better price on a Christmas gift. Just of thought of the crowds, the lack of order, and crazy moms fighting over the newest toy (this year its some robotic hamster). Just check out all these people waiting in the cold:
Did you notice the throngs of store employees standing there to keep order? We have all heard the stories of people getting injured, trampled, and even killed by mobs of angry shoppers. Crazy! From the looks of this video, it is an orderly procession of people waiting for that great deal on that perfect gift for Christmas. From the shouts of joy in the video, I can only imagine the excitement, adrenaline, and hope that people experienced. They are excited about the deals. Their adrenaline is pumping because they know they have to run to be the first. And, they hope that their Xbox or Wii will be there for them to buy.
Why is it so exciting to wait and line at 4 a.m. to get the “best” deal? Why all the excitement?
An earlier version of the this post did not post correctly. This is an updated post.
“It’s good to be the king.” That was the classic line from Mel Brook’s History of the Word, Part I (He never made part II). This line is said throughou
t the movie, often during wanton behavior from different characters. In one part of the movie, Brooks plays King Louis during the French Revolution and he uses his power to oppress the people, gives the citizens of France rotten food, and treats people with contempt. The joke about being the “king” in the movie is centered on the fact that being the king allows one to abusive power… when it suits the king. Towards the end of the movie, the King Louis is running for his life because his “kingly attitude” catches up with him in the form of a mob!
When we look at kings in history, there are certainly kings who look like the Mel Brook’s King Louis and that leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths about the idea of kingship. We can easily see a king as one who does not deserve power and who abuses power. The idea that one person can assume leadership simply because his family has power and money is just downright wrong to us 21st century Americans. We come from a democracy!
I started using Facebook shortly after I entered graduate school in 2003. I was a Myspace user, but often lamented Myspace’s messiness. It was limited. Some of my college friends began to use Facebook and I saw it as a way to stay in touch with people. Facebook looked clean, but it was confusing why I could see everyone’s business: who they talked to, what they posted, what they said, etc… We have seen Facebook evolve from a “college only” website to a global network of all ages. Facebook is ubiquitous. My parents, who are retired, even have a Facebook page! Some bloggers have even commented how “uncool” Facebook has become since so many people are using it. (You are still cool Mom and Dad.)
Facebook has played with the concept of the “news feed” and the “live feed” for sometime. Currently, through the news feed you get the basic updates from people on pictures, posted links, and comments on your profile. The live feed does much more. It documents almost everything you and your friends are doing right now. You can always change what information you share in the Facebook security settings, but things get ridiculous. It can get annoying to see tiny details about your friend’s habits, especially if you have a large friend list.
In getting past the annoying nature of reading every minuet detail of your friends, we fall into the trap of Facebook live feed:
As I mentioned before, I was very hopeful that Jon and Kate Gosselin would patch things up, but things have certainly gotten worse since Jon and Kate have split. The media circus has heighten the tension of the conflict between Jon and Kate. Despite Jon’s disclosure of seeking a “higher power” the relationship between him and his family is almost at a point of no return. The girlfriends of Jon, other “reality celebrities”, and the media have virtually wrecked any chance of reconciliation. I cringe every time Jon says, “I’m just here for my kids… I love them.” If he truly loved his kids then he would not engage in activities or conflicts that bring the worst out of the couple. Kate has admitted to her own issues, but Jon’s are more public.
In a strange development, Jon was planning a show with “Octo Mom”:
There were terrible, terrible rumors going around that Jon Gosselin and Octomom Nadya Suleman were going to have their own reality show entitled, Jon – Kate = Jon + Octomom. However, Jon has had time to have a long, hard think about this career decision and has come up with the surprising decision to opt against famewhoring.
You got to be kidding me. I think it is a little late for cashing in on his family’s publicity. However, one silver-lining could be the fact that Jon now has “spiritual advisers”:
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